


Deserve

by Wallwalker



Category: Star Ocean: The Second Story | Second Evolution
Genre: Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-04-01
Packaged: 2018-05-30 10:57:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6421036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wallwalker/pseuds/Wallwalker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Claude spends a lot of time in the workshop, and Precis wonders why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Deserve

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AceQueenKing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceQueenKing/gifts).



Precis didn't see as much of Claude as she might've liked. And no, she'd say to her old man when he tried to crack jokes, that wasn't some kind of innuendo, she wasn't trying to be like that! Sure, she liked him, but they both had a lot going on! For the moment, she was just happy he was staying in Linga... except for the part that he was always busy, anyway.

Seriously, no one would leave him alone! The old professors at the university were constantly picking his brain about what they'd discovered on their journey. He'd spent most of a week at Professor Krasner's house, talking about that book they'd found, the one that talked about this ancient paradise that just happened to be called the same thing as the place they'd gotten carried off to by the Wise Men, or whatever. And if it wasn't them, then it was the King calling them all down for a ball or something. She'd never gone, herself; sure, she'd love to see her friends again, and sometimes they did come to visit. But a royal ball? Nah, she just didn't fit in there. 

When he was back in Linga – she had never heard him call it home, so she wasn't sure if she should say it either – he'd spend most of his time in her workshop. And he didn't even build things, usually! He'd just look around at what she and her old man had built; once in a while he'd poke at something, but he didn't really have any knack for it that she could see. He didn't even talk much, unless someone interrupted him (usually her, because what else could she do?)

Usually they don't talk about the machines. Not that she wouldn't be happy to talk about it, but she's seen Claude's face when he's looking at them, and he just looked so sad. And she's not good at this emotional stuff; she still remembers how awkward it was, crying on his shoulder back on Nede. 

She doesn't remember what changed her mind that day. Maybe he was looking a little more lost than usual.

“Hey, Claude,” she said, desperately trying to sound casual as she walked up to him, “what's up?” 

“Huh?” he says, looking up at her. The old chatterbox (that was her dad's name for it, since it used to say things in some weird language before it finally died) was sitting in his hands. It was one of the things he looked at the most. “What do you mean?”

Did she really have to spell it out? “You keep looking at this stuff,” she says. “I'm just... I mean, what are you looking for?” 

Claude had to think about that one. He just kept looking at the chatterbox like he expecting it to say something that he could understand. In retrospect, she'd think later, that was probably the wrong thing to say entirely. But she'd just wanted to get it out, before she'd decided not to. 

“It's not that I'm looking for anything,” he finally said, putting the box down but keeping a hand on it. “Did you ever try to take this apart, Precis?” 

“I tried once.” She scrunched up her nose at the memory. Nothing she'd tried had worked – nothing could get through whatever was covering it! She was pretty sure she could've dropped it off a cliff and it would've still stayed intact. “I couldn't get into it, though.”

“I figured as much. They're almost impossible to crack.” He pulled his hands away, shaking his head. “And that's with Federation tech... I don't know if anything on this planet could get into it at all. Advanced Symbology, maybe, but I'm not even sure about that.” 

“Huh! You think if we asked Leon, he'd -” She snapped her mouth shut, eyes widening as she figured out what Claude was really saying. “Wait! You know what that is, don't you!?” 

“I think so.” He looked like he was somewhere far away. “They call it a black box, although they're not usually black anymore. It records what people say to each other on a ship. People look for them after a ship is destroyed.” 

“Oh,” she said. It wasn't hard to figure out what he was thinking about. She still remembered him falling to his knees, when the Wise Men had blown up his dad. She might not understand what they'd done, but she understood what sadness looked like. “Are you... are you okay? Seriously?” 

“I'm fine.” He tried to smile as best he could, but she could tell his heart wasn't really in it. “I was just thinking... someone somewhere is probably wondering why this ship disappeared, and why people they cared about never came back. They never found it, or else it wouldn't be here. This was the only way that anyone would find out what happened, and they never even got the chance to hear it.”

“Is there anything we could do? Maybe if we could make something to throw it really, really high -”

His smile widened a bit, at least. “Maybe someday, but that's not what I had in mind. It just makes me wonder if I'm being selfish.” 

“About what? You saved everybody on Expel!” 

“Yes,” he said. “But there are people wondering what happened to me, too, back on Earth.” He sighed. “I love it here, you know? I mean, sure, there are things I miss, but this place is so much more alive. Living here, it feels like anything's possible, like maybe this planet won't make the same mistakes that we made. But then I think about Earth, and my family, and I wonder... do I owe it to them to go back there? To tell them what happened to my father, and to us?” 

That was a lot to take in, but after seeing an entire other world, Precis thought she could understand it. Well, maybe. Probably. It was just like going away from home, except that home was a lot further away and harder to get to. 

She didn't think he really wanted an answer. He was just thinking. Maybe she could help him think it out. Apparently he could figure out some way to get back, so she'd just figure he didn't need help with that.

“You said you're happy here, though. Right?” she asked instead. 

“Of course I am.” He sounded like he meant it, too; he didn't hesitate, and he didn't say it too loudly, like Precis would say things she was trying to convince herself were true. He was so calm that she couldn't help but believe him.

“Well, if you're happy here, maybe there's some other way. I mean, like I said before, maybe we can't just throw that thing up there, but we can get it past the sky somehow, right? And then maybe someone could find it. Or you could send a message of your own – do you think we could make one of those boxes? That would be so cool!” 

“I don't know,” he said, blinking. “I mean... I just wonder sometimes if it's really okay for me to be here.” 

And that was when Precis really got what he was saying. It was like when her mother had left, wasn't it? When she'd thought at first that she'd be happier without her always being mad at her dad, but every time she thought she was happier, she'd remember how her mom had laughed and she'd just feel so guilty. Wasn't that what Claude was saying?

She reached out, put a hand on his shoulder. It seemed right, not quite a hug but not just words, either. “Claude,” she said. “You went through a whole lot to save everyone.” 

“I know, but -”

“No! No buts,” she interrupted. “Just get this in your head, okay? You deserve this.” 

“Deserve what? What are you -”

“Claude! Listen!” She stared into his face, standing on her tiptoes. “You deserve to be happy! You might not always believe it, but you really do, and I'll just have to keep reminding you until you get it, so get used to it! Okay??” 

He kept that same weird surprised look for a few seconds, but then he just started laughing. Really laughing, too, not like that little laugh he tried to use to fool people! She was really good at telling the difference, after all. “When you put it that way, I can't really argue, can I?” 

“Nope!” she said, laughing along. “Not really.” 

“Oh, man. I'm... thanks, Precis.” He patted her on the arm before pulling away. “I needed that.”

“Well, that's what I do,” she said, hoping she wasn't blushing too much. “So, next time you wanna hang out in here, why don't you help me build something? That would be fun, right?”

“Yeah, I think it would,” he answered. “I mean, might as well try to make myself at home.” 

It was probably really embarrassing, how much she was grinning, but that was okay. "That's right!"

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Claude's life in an ending where he chooses to stay on Expel. Hope you don't mind that Precis decided to come along!


End file.
